Ashy Bulbul    Hemixos flavala

Etymology:

  • Hemixos: greek word hemi- half-; Ixos- genus bulbul { half bulbul}
  • Flavala : Latin word flavus- yellow; ala -wing. { yellow winged}

Vernacular Names : Cachar: Dao-bulip-gadeba, Mishmi: Echo-chi, Lepcha: Nalli-pindi, Naga: Kurkapa,Gasha-totai

Distribution in India: Resident Himalayan foothills and North East of India

Description: Size of 19-20 cm. A crested Bulbul with black mask, tawny ear coverts, grey upper parts and greyish-brown tail. It has Olive –yellow wing panels, white throat and pale grey breast merging with whitish belly. Both Sexes look similar. It is found in broadleaf evergreen forest, pine forest and bamboo patches.

Food Habits: They mainly eat Fruit, insects and a variety of other berries and on flowers. They forge on land looking for insects below dried leaves and are also capable of catching insects in flight.

Breeding Habits: The breeding season is April-July. The nest is a compact cup shaped structure made from dried grass and twigs bound with dried vine, animal hair or even copper wires. The female does most of the work, but the male performs mate-guarding and accompanies its mate all the while. The male postures in front of the female by performing bowing, drooping the wings, moving its head to enhance the chestnut patch. The crest is raised. The tail is fanned and raised in order to display the conspicuous under tail coverts and their broad white edges. Some sounds probably accompany these displays. The female lays 3-5 eggs and incubates during 13-14 days. Unfortunately, the open cup-shaped nest makes it vulnerable to brood parasitism by cuckoos. The chicks fledge 10-11 days after hatching. The family group remains on its territory for two months. This species usually produces several broods per season.